Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta launched a scathing assessment of his side despite their 2-1 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, insisting his players made the game far harder than it needed to be.
The Gunners went ahead late on through a Sam Johnstone own goal, only to be rocked when Tolu Arokodare struck in the 90th minute.
Arsenal were spared further embarrassment when Yerson Mosquera nodded into his own net deep into stoppage time to secure all three points for the league leaders.
Arteta admitted the victory brought relief rather than satisfaction, saying the margin should have been far more comfortable.
“It was a relief, but the margin should have been bigger,” he said, pointing to missed opportunities in the first half and poor decision-making in the final third.
The Arsenal boss was particularly unhappy with his team’s lapse after taking the lead, describing a brief spell of passivity as unacceptable.
“We scored and then had two or three minutes where we were deep, totally passive, with horrible defensive habits. That is nowhere near the level required against a team that hadn’t had a single shot. The first time they had the chance, they scored.”
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League on 36 points as they aim to avoid a fourth straight second-place finish, but Arteta warned that tougher tests await during the Christmas schedule.
“Learn from it and move on,” he said. “Every win in the Premier League matters, but we made it harder for ourselves today. That’s the big lesson.” Arsenal next face Everton on Saturday.